Forever Young
by The Mad Hatter Effect
Summary: She had no doubt about it now, Mr. Tall knew she was there... so why did he not drag her out? Throw her from seeing the show? She didn't know and it left her all the more nervous. CrepsleyxOc
1. Chapter 00

**Disclaimer:** I do not own anything by Darren Shan featured. I only own any fan characters that may appear.

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><p>"Are you sure I'll like this, Kelly?" the woman inquired, staring warily down at the cover of the book in her hands.<p>

Kelly huffed, as if insulted that the taller woman would doubt her choice in books she would recommend, hands on her hips. The slightest of smiles on her face would tell otherwise however. "Please, Jess! I wouldn't throw something at you to read if I didn't genuinely think you'd like it."

Jessica could only chuckle at this, shaking her head at her friend's antics. The two had been best friends since meeting, a surprise to both as they were equally wary and rather untrusting of most other people, though they didn't question it too much anymore.

So their trek down the bright sunlit sidewalk continued as the two continued to chat amiably, ignoring the people who passed them by, often giving strange glances to Kelly's choice of dress. They would be at Jessica's home soon enough after all where the staring would cease.

It wasn't a surprise to anyone she knew when she dressed oddly, though to anyone who didn't know her it could be quite the shock. In fact today was no different, wearing one of her favorite outfits, with several others tucked away in her duffle bag for her stay with Jessica over the next week or so.

That day saw Kelly sporting much black and red - a common theme for her. The oddest thing about her outfit were the unnecessary belts hanging form her hips and the long red jacket that swayed with the breeze. A little top hat was perched precariously on her tangled hair, held in place with the elastic headband.

To say she was a sight would've been putting it lightly. She practically looked like some sort of performer, belonging more on stage or in an anime or manga rather than walking down a sidewalk in town. Jessica could only grow more and more amused at the odd looks Kelly was amassing, despite her own self-consciousness weighing in.

Jessica was decidedly normal in her choice of wear, a simple baggy hoodie with a zombie design over the back. A railroad hat sat atop her head hiding her dark blond hair and a pair of baggy blue jeans trailed over her sneakers.

"So... What character do you think I'll like?" Jessica piped up, once again eyeing the book in her hands. She wasn't too crazy about cracking it open, but she had promised Kelly she would. The fact that it was about vampires didn't help considering the declining amount of good literature on such a genre. Though it must hold some merit, Jessica reasoned, like herself, Kelly didn't often dabble into vampire literature.

"Hmm... Probably Evra, the snake-boy..." Kelly answered after a moment of thought. She nodded to herself at this conclusion. "You may like Darren after awhile, too, though that's a big maybe..."

"Gotcha, We-"

Kelly paused in her rather swift stride at the sudden silence that surrounded her. In fact, it hadn't just been Jessica's sentence that had suddenly cut off, the entire world seemed to freeze around her, birds caught in mid flight and leaves on the trees falling in place... Even the people were motionless as Kelly gazed around her, brow furrowing in confusion. Her mind raced, attempting to piece together what was suddenly going on.

This could just be a dream, albeit a strange one. Though her heart hammering loudly and wildly against her ribs at this oddity assured her otherwise. Even the breeze that had been passing by, chilling the skin, seemed to have stopped entirely.

Spinning around slightly Kelly held her arms out as if in challenge as she stated, "What the fuck is this? Any explanation about this?"

Of course she wasn't really expecting a response, so when she did receive one it caught her by surprise, causing Kelly to tense and spin back around at the sound of the voice.

"But of course. It would be rude to leave you without one..."

Kelly's mouth opened, ready to spout out a comment, an inquiry, an insult - anything that came out first was what would be said - though she was stopped short at what she saw. Before her stood another woman, tall and lanky, towering even over Jessica, who remained frozen, book in hand and a grin over her face.

The woman had strange pink hair, the bangs falling over her sorrowful blue eyes. Why was she so sad though? Kelly didn't know, she didn't even think she wanted to know, honestly. She dressed in a flowing white gown that didn't seem appropriate given the fall air.

The strangest thing about this woman, however, was not the pink hair or the lack of proper clothes for the season but the wing sprouting from her back, wrapped in bandages here and there as if it had been bound recently. On the other side there seemed to be a feathery stub, indicating she must've had another wing at one point or another. Kelly briefly wondered just how the woman had lost it, it didn't seem to be a costume decoration, there were no straps to hold the wings up after all...

Was she dreaming? Kelly had to assume that she was. Nothing else made sense. Why would this woman have wings of all things? Why would the world have seemed frozen in time but for she and this stranger? Despite this logical reasoning it was hard to grasp that any of this was a dream. If it had been a dream Kelly would not have felt the cold that sent goosebumps up her arms just minutes ago.

Kelly was speechless as the wing flapped slightly, a few pure white feathers drifting to the ground near the woman's bare feet. A sad smile spread over her lips, tanned hands clasping before her she spoke again.

"I am sorry, have I startled you, Kelly?"

Kelly's mouth opened to respond though she soon closed it, a mixed look of confusion, thought, and wariness upon her face as she eyed this other-worldly woman. Many questions buzzed through her mind, drifting in and out in a flash, sometimes before Kelly even had a full grasp of them.

"Two questions; how do you know my name and what are you?"

A chuckle, though one that still held a sorrowful tone to it, was Kelly's initial answer and this only caused her to huff, a hand on her hip. What was so funny? And furthermore, why was this strange woman so damn sad? Kelly couldn't figure it out and she hated not understanding especially to something that seemed to be so important.

Finally the strange woman gave a real answer; "I know lots of things. It comes with being in charge of overseeing what one would call 'fate.'"

"Okay, that answered the first question... sort of."

"I do not have the time to answer all of your questions, I must apologize." For her credit, Kelly had to admit that the woman did seem sorry about this fact. So, with a spark of irritation, she let it slide allowing the woman to continue with whatever was going on. Maybe if she didn't interrupt she'd find out just what was going on. "If I do not hurry you will not be well-informed."

"Wait, why do you need to hurry?" Kelly couldn't help herself, but it seemed as if this woman was in a rush for more than just the reason given. She almost seemed frightened. Well, this certainly didn't help the already eerie mood set with the frozen world around them.

Was Kelly being punked? If so it was a damn good set up. Maybe someone slipped her some drug, though she didn't know how that would've happened either. Any other possibilities of what was going on fled as the woman spoke up once again capturing Kelly's attention.

"I'm sacrificing myself merely for this chance, so I hope that you can stop it-"

"Stop what?"

"You know the events that happen, you should be able to prevent what is supposed to happen and change the course of events!"

"To what?"

A pause as the winged woman, who Kelly now had no doubt was behind the strange stopped state of the world, stared. Her hands were once again clasped before her. The mood between the two was drastically different from those of the happy and content faces of those frozen aorund them. Kelly was tense, her hand at her side clenched in irritation and worry. She hated the feeling of worry, it didn't sit well for her who would do what she wanted and needed to do without a care or a worry for consequences.

She would deal with whatever came her way as it happened. It's how she lived, always had didn't go with her persona. But now, in the face of this strange woman, the feeling invaded her very mind, not understanding what was going on at all.

"I apologize, you are still so very confused..."

Kelly resisted a callous retort at this, instead holding her tongue as another of those melancholic smiles filled the woman's face. She stepped closer to Kelly, who resisted back stepping away, a hand outstretched her fingers grazing over Kelly's cheek only to watch the shorter woman flinch away at the contact slightly.

"But I trust you can find some way to break the cycle..."

"Cycle?"

"The one in that book." Her blue eyes drifted to the book in Jessica's hands and Kelly's flickered to it, brow once again scrunching up in confusion. "The events have been set in motion again... I'm sacrificing my life to interfere, despite that I am not supposed to. This is the penalty..."

"So, wait... I'm being sent into a book of all things?" came Kelly's incredulous reply, a brow raising in disbelief. Why she chose to become skeptic now over everything else that was happening she couldn't say. Her previous thoughts of this all being a dream were looking more and more realistic by the second. "Why me?"

This time genuine amusement danced in the odd woman's eyes, her wing drawing closer to her body as this happened. "Because you were the first I ran into with the knowledge needed for this. It could have been anyone."

"Ah, so I'm no chosen one, eh?"

A nod was given in response and Kelly smirked wildly, a fire dancing in her dark eyes. "Great! That's a load off my shoulders! I can act and do as I please and cause as many mistakes without having to keep any bullshit 'chosen one' status good and without a stain on its title!"

"You are a very strange one, indeed," was the soft reply, a chuckle following after. "So I take it that you are ready? I cannot unfreeze time unless you go, no... No, you have already been the one I have decided upon - no other may take your place now..."

A sad expression crossed Kelly's features, her gaze turning to Jessica, still frozen with a grin on her face. After a few moments of silence she pushed her glasses up her nose. "So I don't get a choice anyways, huh?"

She briefly wondered what would happen when time would unfreeze, the world continuing without her. Surely Jessica's reaction would be of shock at first. She couldn't say what would come after that, though.

"I am afraid not. Please forgive my selfishness..."

Kelly waved her hand as if to brush away the comment. "What's done is done. Let's just do this."

A heaviness weighed on her chest as she was turned around, a hand on her shoulder as the winged woman began to fade and disappear as if she were never there to begin with. Perhaps only a hallucination in the first place. A breeze ran by for the first time in what seemed like so long, ruffling Kelly's hair and jacket tails as she too began to disappear, her eyes still focusing on Jessica before the scene was replaced entirely, a jarring event for the woman thrust so rapidly into something so very supernatural.

Sounds filled her ears once again, those of a crowd - excited mutterings and whisperings, clothes rustling and her eyesight took several long seconds to adjust to the now dim lighting surrounding her. She blinked around her in shock at the theater before her, all of its seats occupied. She was at the very back, hidden mostly by the shadows that reached the area, all of the lights focused on the stage before her and the crowd.

On the stage what Kelly recognized as a - no, no _the_ - wolf man sitting on his haunches in his cage. On either side of the cage were two pretty women, obviously stage hands. A very tall, larger than life, man was there as well, an equally large top hat adorning his head and exaggerating his height further. He spoke in a voice that wasn't all that loud. It had a croaky kind of tone to it.

It amazed Kelly just how it managed to stretch out to reach even her ears.

"Ladies and gentlemen... Welcome to the Cirque du Freak, home of the world's most remarkable human beings."

At this his eyes, so far away from Kelly though appearing beady even at this distance, seemed to flicker in her direction and she resisted swallowing the heavy lump in her throat as her heart skipped a beat. He knew she was here? But how? Was it his strange seemingly mind reader abilities she remembered from the books. Regardless of whether or not he knew she was there, without a ticket and without paying, he continued on as was usual as if nothing the stranger was going on with the Cirque's routine. The words were so very familiar to Kelly, who had reread the books several times over - setting the mood for the show to come.

Kelly blinked down at her side to find what she knew to be a Little Person seemingly leering up at her from beneath the blue folds of its robes. Only the mask Little People wore poked through to be shone in the darkness. It held her stare as if accusing her of being somewhere she shouldn't be though she couldn't bring herself to move or leave.

Instead she uttered just one phrase; "Guess I gotta figure out what I'm supposed to do, huh?"

The Little Person did not answer her question.


	2. Chapter 01

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing but any Ocs that may appear.

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><p>Kelly stood, nervousness causing her heart to flutter rapidly in her chest as she waited for Mr. Tall to finish his introduction to the Cirque du Freak. She didn't remember the exact order the freaks were shown in, only that the wolf man was first and Evra was last. No doubt she'd have to hide behind the curtain behind her, with many folds to hide her behind when the women would lead the wolf man up and down the aisles for all to see and those close enough to pet to do so.<p>

She didn't need to see the wolf man after all, not up close though it would've been something to brag about later to have petted him. So she quickly hid herself behind the thick curtains, finding herself in the corridor behind it that she had no doubt the people seated in the deck chairs had come through.

As she waited, peeking out every so often to check the progress of the wolf man and the two women in their shiny suits a thought struck her; what if Mr. Tall came and confronted her about her being at the Cirque when she had no right to be? Well this wasn't good, it left the woman even more tense than before, not like she needed more of it.

Kelly still didn't know exactly what she was supposed to do to break the 'cycle' the strange woman had spoken of before hand...

So she remained hidden, heart thudding wildly still, loud as a beating drum in her ears. Surely someone must hear it! Though no one rose to peek behind the curtains, the Little Person still just on the other side made no move to blow her cover and no presence was sensed behind her or a tap on her shoulder to alert her to anyone being there to scold her. She even double checked every so often, dark eyes scanning the corridor behind the lenses of her glasses.

It was at this point, when she was glancing warily over her shoulder once again that a loud thud and a piercing scream causing her to jump and tense all the more, peering out from between the drapes once more to witness what was going on, even though she very well knew what was happening, her mind flashing to the book's events.

A woman and toppled from her seat, the sounds snapping the wolf man from his trance and causing him to lunge for her before anyone could stop him, many people immediately began jumping up and rushing away from the crazed hybrid. He managed to drag a woman to the floor, no one bothering to help her as she attempted to shove the wild beast man away only to have her arm bitten and ripped clean off, a spray of blood following suit before another scream erupted from her throat at the pain and shock that ran through her.

The clamor after that only rose ten fold, some people fainting at the gruesome sight while many more yelled and tried to run away once more. Kelly was frozen, unwilling to move and draw attention to her hiding spot as of yet. She had the sinking suspicion she may knew what she had to do...

Before the brouhaha could become even wilder in nature, Mr. Tall stepped in, grasping the wolf man by his neck, using his height to his advantage. The wolf man struggled for several seconds before Mr. Tall whispered something or other to the creature, calming him down and returning him to his trance. As Mr. Tall led the beastly man away the women began to reassure and calm the crowd back down, getting people to return to their seats.

Kelly found it morbidly humorous that while this was happening the woman who was now missing a hand was still screaming, her only hand clutching the bloody stump in horror. The ground and the people around her were splattered with blood, glistening in the eerie green light that was focused on the stage. Mr. Tall soon returned, picking up the hand as he went calmly as always and gave a loud whistling that echoed in everyone's ears. With the help of two Little People Mr. Tall sat the woman up, reattaching her hand with some strange powder produced by the Little People and a needle and orange string.

With demands from Mr. Tall the woman experimented with moving her fingers albeit hesitantly, everything all right and working as it should be, despite the stitches now holding it to the rest of her arm and the fact that she had felt no pain.

Awe filled Kelly as she had watched this - she had found it awesome when she had read about it before, seeing it first hand was even more awe inspiring.

As Kelly predicted Mr. Tall soon reprimanded not only the woman but her husband who had come with her to the show and had done nothing to help save her. The reprimanding soon extended to all in the theater and Kelly had the feeling it also extended to her as well, warning them all once again that the show was dangerous and not for those of faint heart.

"We cannot guarantee _anybody's_ safety! Another accident is unlikely but it could happen. Once a gain I say, if you are afraid, leave. Leave now, before it is too late!"

Once again his coal-like eyes traveled over everyone but seemed to stop over her hiding spot for longer than it should have. Kelly tensed once again, a nervous, sheepish look crossing her face, though almost instantly the man had returned to the show resuming as it should have and once again she was left alone.

She had no doubt about it now, Mr. Tall knew she was there... so why did he not drag her out? Throw her from seeing the show? She didn't know and it left her all the more nervous when she stepped out from behind the curtains again as the attention turned back to the stage and the freaks who stepped upon it to show off their oddities and talents.

Alexander Ribs was up, playing his rib cage as if it were a xylophone as well as being a contortionist and served more as comedy in place of actual fear or freakiness as a few Little People went about cleaning up the blood mess on the floor during his act. Next came Rhamus Twobellies, an enormous man with literally two bellies with which he could eat anything (metal, glass, etc.) and even regurgitate up into different shapes! It sounded rather painful to Kelly, though she kept herself from wincing at the thought of doing such things as she waited and watched, still tensed and prepared to be confronted.

In fact she almost called out a time limit for Rhamus' challenge of how long it would take to eat everything the women placed before him, not remembering the exact number at all just that her first guess when she had read the books before this mess had been five minutes and _extremely_ close to how long it had in fact taken him (which ended up being a total of four minutes and fifty-six seconds, mind you!).

She remained in her spot, leaning against the wall, arms crossed over her chest as she did so, anxious at not being confronted by Mr. Tall but still delighted at the show before her.

As she stood watching as the Little People sold off a few souvenirs, the one nearest her the entire time even offering her the tray of goodies first before he rushed off after she shook her head 'no', an apologetic look on Kelly's face as she did so. The bearded lady, Truska, was next, dressed in a rather skimpy outfit that made most men squirm or stare as she performed growing her beard out and allowing people to attempt to cut it in vain in exchange for a solid gold bar.

Hans Hands soon appeared on stage, racing several challengers on his hands alone and leaving them all in his dust. Once again, Kelly took to hiding in the corridor as this happened in case they had used the aisles nearest her spot. She still didn't know why she hadn't been busted yet, but the longer it took the happier she would be, wanting to see more of the show. Of course the issue of leaving unseen by Mr. Tall at the end was on her mind but she would deal with that when it came.

Mr. Tall was once again on stage, introducing the next performer, his voice still as deep and croaky as a frog's. "Ladies and gentlemen, our next act is another unique and perplexing one. It can also be quite dangerous, so I ask that you make no noise and do not clap until you are told it is safe."

And with that warning the entire theater grew silent as Mr. Tall wandered off stage once again, though with a soft shout he still introduced the next performer; "Mr. Crepsley and Madam Octa!"

At this Kelly stood a little straighter, eagerness apparent on her face. Admittedly Mr. Crepsley had been a favorite character of hers, though she was attempting to hold back her admiration lest she meet him and be disappointed. It's one thing to like someone before you even knew them but meeting the person you admire could often dash that admiration.

Kelly wanted to be prepared if she had the chance to run into him, after all. Though maybe that was her cynicism speaking, not wanting to have her hopes dashed.

As the light dimmed further the tall, lanky form of Mr. Crepsley stepped on stage, adorning a red cape and his shock of orange hair standing out for all to see as well as the thin twisted scar along his cheek. In his unnaturally pale hand he held the cage to the deathly poisonous spider, Madam Octa.

Setting Madam Octa's cage upon the small table that occupied the stage he gave a bow and a nearly malicious looking smirk before explaining his act to the crowds. She listened to him talk and found it embarrassing that she rather liked the sound of his deep voice as he spoke - not that Kelly would ever admit that to anyone. Ever.

Kelly was much too proud for confessions like that, after all.

"It is not true that all tarantulas are poisonous. Most are as harmless as the spiders you find anywhere in the world. And those which _are_ poisonous normally only have enough poison in them to kill very small creatures." Mr. Crepsley informed, eyes traveling over the crowd from beneath the brim of the overly large top hat adorning his head. Kelly had to once again force the lump back down her throat as her heart skipped a beat in (what she would later deny) fear as his eyes seemed to linger on her, standing amidst all those sitting.

There was no doubt that she stood out clearly, even in the darkness to what she knew was his enhanced vampire sight.

Kelly fought to keep from ducking behind the curtains, it wouldn't do anything but prove her guilt. It would say more about herself than anything else. Mr. Crepsley continued without skipping a beat;

"But some are deadly! Some can kill a man in one bite. They are rare, and only found in extremely remote areas, but they do exist. I have one such spider." With that the man opened the spider's cage though it remained silent, nothing moving for several seconds. That was before the spider finally removed herself from her 'home' showing off her fat green, purple and red body, the thick hairy legs twitching as she moved. The fangs looked particularly dangerous even from the distance Kelly was at from the stage.

The show continued on, with Mr. Crepsley feeding the crowd a bit of background information on the spider's life span, intelligence and danger level. While he did this a Little Person was leading a bleating goat upon the stage and Kelly waited to see the overly large spider in action with her own eyes. Once the goat was secured to the table, still attempting to get away as if it could sense the danger it was in, Mr. Crepsley continued his act, producing a little tin whistle he claimed was a flute to catch Madam Octa's attention and to help relay mental orders to her.

So the show continued, with the goat being bitten quickly after, showing off just how dangerous this exotic spider was to the onlookers. Kelly wasn't one to be afraid of spiders, often times picking them up and chasing a co-worker she knew was terrified of them around, but this one made her wary, unwilling to want to even attempt touching her in any way or form.

After the initial fright the front row of watchers received the performance with the spider continued, with Kelly watching intently from her spot in the darkness, next to that same Little Person as before who stood beside her as if on guard or something. She was still tense, still awaiting Mr. Tall to come after her for trespassing as Mr. Crepsley had Madame Octa perform all manner of tricks often with her crawling all over his person, using that little flute to keep control of her.

It was during this show, however, that Kelly was _sure_ the man knew she was there without consent, his eyes flickering to meet hers every so often. This unnerved her even further though she fought not to let it show, instead gripping her sleeves tighter in her hands whenever it happened to keep composed especially when Mr. Tall was too on the stage to help with Mr. Crepsley's act.

However, soon his act was finished and placing Madam Octa back in her cage he gave a low bow and with a wide smirk aimed at, no doubt, Kelly he was gone from the stage.

Kelly had to fight to remain in place. She would not run, not just because she was caught being where she shouldn't be. This was too good to be true, after all! Besides it kept her from thinking about the few people she cared about that she had left behind, after all.

Another break soon followed where Kelly once again hid behind the curtains just in case. Her mind was working overtime in an attempt to figure out what she was supposed to do for that strange winged woman. If she was in the timeline she thought she was she may have a clue, but she couldn't be sure until she spotted a certain someone or two...

Gertha Teeth followed up the break challenging many to attempt to break her teeth, after that Twisting Twins Sive and Seersa were next being a pair of contortionists who performed as one. Once that was finished Mr. Tall was once again upon that stage thanking everyone for coming and informing them all that they could buy more souvenirs at the back of the hall and other such courtesies.

As many of the people stood to leave Kelly waited, anticipating the snake-boy's arrival. Surely people must be wondering where he was at as she clearly remembered he was mentioned on the Cirque flyer's in the book, maybe they had forgotten in the excitement and fear from the show? - and sure enough at the balcony the largest snake anyone would ever see was sliding out at its leisurely pace, tongue flickering into the air as it began to slide down the pole towards the people below as a scream resounded out into the theater.

Before much damage could be done other than the occasional person falling and being trampled in the crowd's rush to get away a light fixed itself into the snake's face, freezing it in place. Then arrived the snake boy himself upon the stage with messy yellowy-green hair and oddly shaped snake-like eyes dressed in a white robe-like garment.

He dropped the raiment showing off his blue-green, green and yellow scaled body fully, dressed only in a pair of baggy shorts now. Soon enough, to the awe of the crowd he had 'tamed' the large snake that had arrived before him, wrapping its large body around himself though allowing the tail to drag along after him. After his stunt with placing his head in to the snake's mouth Mr. Tall's throaty voice filled everyone's ears once more;

"And that, ladies and gentleman, really is the end."

Kelly tensed, feeling people around her near the exit curtain, how could she have forgotten that he appeared at the end at the exit? Where _she was currently standing! _She slowly turned her head, fighting to keep a composed expression on her face as she did so to view Mr. Tall holding the curtains open for all to exit through.

She was dead, she was sure of it. She had trespassed without fee and now she was caught for sure. In fact, Mr. Tall was even staring back at her with those odd coal-like eyes of his as if accusing her though truthfully no discernable expression could be read on his face. Several people spared her an odd look or two as they passed, some stopping to buy a souvenir or two from the Little People and women holding the trays before they, too, left.

Of course this stare down was broken as two boys strode up, the crowds nearly all but gone at this point, his attention turning to them. The following conversation, Mr. Tall asking them how they enjoyed the show and such, only told Kelly what she needed to know.

She was at the very beginning of the book series...

It was during this exchange that Kelly attempted to stealthily slip out amidst the few stragglers, nervousness and adrenaline running through her veins as she did so. However, before she could fully get away Mr. Tall's voice echoed out to her causing her to freeze for but a moment; "Do not think that we will not meet again, Kelly."

"Ah?" She turned, giving Mr. Tall her best 'innocent' look though she could imagine how pale she must've looked, a nervous smile on her face. Mr. Tall was a huge man, she feared angering him and was still awaiting some form of punishment that didn't seem to be coming for seeing the show without admission.

This fact only left her more and more confused.

Even the two boys she knew to be Darren and Steve looked slightly curious about this though no questions were asked (at least none that she could hear) as she hurried away down the corridor. Her mind was working in overtime as she formulated a plan. She was to break the cycle for that winged woman, right? Well, keeping in mind the events of the books (or what she remembered of it) her next actions would have to do it all or else the cycle would continue.

Kelly hid herself in the first place she could, behind another set of curtains draped around the run down place, ignoring the chill and cracked walls and graffiti amidst said cracks. It wasn't really original, anyone could have found her if they looked but she had to risk it in order for the only plan she had to work out.

Now she just had to wait...


	3. Chapter 02

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing but any Ocs that may appear.

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><p>It was rather silent after a long few minutes though it was soon broken by a hesitant pair of foot steps and Kelly tensed again. She listened further and sure enough a boy's voice sounded out, speaking to himself unaware of her presence nearby; "Okay, I'm staying! I don't know what Steve's up to, but he's my best friend. If he gets into trouble, I want to be there to help him out!"<p>

Now was the time Kelly stepped out from her hiding place, plastering a large grin over her face and performing a strange little wave and salute combination as she spoke; "Yo~!"

Darren jumped, eyes wide as he stared at her, taking in her strange appearance and the large grin on her face. His face was ashen at being caught and his mouth floundered open and closed without sound. The first thing that came to mind was that she was a stage hand of some sort, Mr. Tall's earlier comment to the strangely dressed woman having slipped his mind entirely in the face of the dilemma with his best friend.

"So, what's going on now, kid?" Kelly asked, stepping closer to the boy who stepped back hesitantly. After several seconds of silence Darren finally recognized her from just minutes before. He had to wonder just who she was and why she was here.

"U-Uhm..." Darren froze, not being a strong liar. His mind drew a blank, not even giving the poor boy a shred of thought to work with.

"I hear your friend's still around, you know it's dangerous around here right?" Kelly pressed gently, softly. She didn't want to frighten the boy too much after all. Just enough to change events. Kelly merely hoped the events changing wouldn't throw things too off the rails and ruin things even further...

Darren nodded dumbly and Kelly crouched before him, lowering her height below that of his in an attempt to ease his mind. "Alright then, which way did he go? Do you know? I can go find him for you and send him on his way home."

"You won't get him in trouble will you?" Darren gasps loudly, the worry apparent on his face. So that's why he was so scared? Kelly should have figured, Darren had a big heart after all. She chuckled, waving a hand as if to brush away the worry that plagued Darren.

"Not at all! I'll make sure he gets home safely. You run on ahead, alright?"

Darren looked unsure, not wanting to trust the strange woman. But what could he do? He nodded his head hesitantly, stepping back just as slowly with his hands shaking at his sides, clammy and slick with sweat in nervousness and fear. "A-Alright. I'll hold you to it!" His anxiousness shone through and he flinched as his attempt at bravado fell on its face. "I-I think he went back to the stage..."

"Alright," Kelly stood, placing a hand atop Darren's head and ruffling his mop of dark hair affectionately as she spun around, spotting the door nearby to the balcony. "He'll be home in no time!" And without waiting for a reply she headed to the door swiftly, jacket tails billowing behind her.

"But the stage is that way!" Darren cries out softly, wondering just what she was doing and pointing back the way he had originally come from the theater. Kelly shot him another grin one would describe as very 'Cheshire-like' in nature over her shoulder.

"Trust me! I know what I'm doing!"

Oh, how she wished that were really true, though before Darren could reply or even ask her her name or anything of the sort she was gone, snapping the door closed behind her and waiting, ear to the door to hear the boy's movements. Kelly also held a hand to the door knob tightly in case he tried to follow, making sure to that it would remain closed until she was sure he had left. Several long seconds followed after in silence and Kelly bit the inside of her cheek hard in anticipation. She didn't know how much she was missing with Steve and Mr. Crepsley but she had to make sure Darren left first or her effort would be in vain.

Finally, after what seemed like forever to her, muffled footsteps sounded out, heading away and to the main exit of the theater. Kelly sucked in a deep breath in relief before turning and rushing up the old and creaky steps, sticking to the walls as closely as possible to reduce the noise from the old rickety stairs.

Reaching the top of the steps Kelly crouched down, ignoring the chill in the air and the dust that flew up her nose as she moved closely to the floor fighting hard not to sneeze and blow her cover. The stage below her was still lit up and she could see everything from up here wonderfully. No one else was around, this factor helping in giving off an even creepier vibe and Kelly had to wonder how much time had passed as she had waited for Darren to leave.

Did she miss it? But that couldn't be right, the conversation that would transpire seemed so much longer! She should've at least come in somewhere in the middle of it!

None the less these doubts filled her mind, causing her heart to hammer in worry and a lump to lodge itself in her throat as she peered over the balcony edge for any sign of movement. After what seemed like ages but was really only about three or four minutes later, foot steps echoed around the spacious theater as the boy known as Steve reappeared. He was gazing around himself warily. Even from so far away Kelly could tell that the boy was very tense as he pulled himself up on stage in the lights, his shadow stretching ominously over the laminated stage floor.

Kelly's breath caught in her throat, even though she was expecting it, as a red blur flashed down, cloak spreading out behind him as he fell, a taunting "Were you searching for _me_?" accompanying his descent.

Steve nearly jumped back and off of the stage backwards at this appearance of Mr. Crepsley, who tucked and rolled as he hit the ground with a soft 'thump' before rising to his full height, a hand straightening his cape out as he did so. Kelly remained tense, lowering herself further, slowly so as to avoid any unnecessary noise as she lay upon her belly, peering over the balcony ledge intently. It was futile, he had come from above, he just _had_ to know she was there already!

Below Steve attempted to answer, his form shivering with all the fright he was feeling at coming face to face with this scarred man. "I saw you watching me. You gasped aloud when you first saw me. Why?"

Steve swallowed the lump in his throat before he attempted speaking, his words shattered with stumbling and stutters. "B-b-because I-I know who you a-are."

"I am Larten Crepsley," came the mocking tone and Kelly could only imagine the sneer on the man's face as he stated this. Steve didn't relent however.

"No," nervousness was still apparent in the boy's voice but he had gotten a grip of his nerves, his voice no longer stuttering. "I know who you _really_ are."

"Oh?" There was no humor in his voice. "Tell me, little boy, who am I _really_?"

"Your real name is Vur Horston." At this, from what she could see of his face, Kelly noted that Mr. Crepsley's jaw actually dropped at this accusation. In any other situation Kelly probably would have found this amusing, however she had to stay focused. No footsteps up the stairs behind her resounded, telling her Darren had not returned as well.

This was good...

"_You're a vampire."_ The silence that followed was a long one and Kelly remained as still as possible so as not to even allow the rustle of clothes to be heard lest she give away her position. The minutes ticked by, dragging on and on for the woman who staid as still as possible, ignoring the tingling in her nose from the dust. She had to force herself not to sneeze.

Finally Mr. Crepsley smiled, sardonically as he broke the silence, "So, I have been discovered. I should not be surprised. It had to happen eventually. Now tell me, boy, who sent you?"

"I'm not working for anybody..." Steve admitted, frown slipping over his lips. The conversation continued on, much as Kelly remembered from the books though she still stayed, focusing intently upon it so as not to miss a second of it. But of course, as according to Murphy's Law, anything that can go wrong will go wrong and as the conversation below continued, with Mr. Crepsley interrogating Steve on just why the boy wished to be a vampire Kelly's nose was tickling and stinging, the oncoming signs of a sneeze.

She forced her nose closed with a hand, breathing through her mouth in an attempt to quell the oncoming intrusion of noise, only to suck more dust into her mouth, itching and tickling the back of her throat. She just couldn't win, it seemed. Small coughs racked her form, though she forced her mouth closed at these, stifling them into the crook of her elbow.

Kelly's heart fluttered in anxiousness as she noted Mr. Crepsley's head turn just slightly at the small noises. Oh yeah, if he hadn't seen her from his place above waiting for Steve then he definitely knew she was there by her coughing now. Though he paid her no mind directly... at least for the moment...

At points of Mr. Crepsley's interrogation of the boy's want of becoming a vampire he seemed very kind, unwilling to turn a child into a vampire just because of a few personal problems within Steve's life. At this Kelly found her admiration for the man grow a bit, though she had to stifle it, reminding herself to keep focused. She had to see if there was anything else she could do for the moment but her mind was drawing a blank...

"Come here, I will have to test you first." the man finally relented, gesturing for Steve to draw closer. Kelly learned further over the ending of the balcony, between two of the thick, rounded rungs holding the railing up. She still kept a hand over her nose to attempt to quell any sneezing that would ruin her hiding spot. One could never be too cautious, after all.

Steve stood by his side, straight as a board as Mr. Crepsley moved to taste the boy's blood. Whatever was said between them was lost in the spacious room, only the whisperings reaching Kelly's ears no matter how hard she strained them to make heads or tails of the mutterings. Of course, she knew what was happening, though it still was awkward and nerve-wracking to see, as Steve was suddenly thrust away from the man who began to wretch and spit out Steve's blood as if it were poison. Some of the red liquid dripped down his chin as he furiously attempted to wipe it away all at once as it dropped to the floor.

There the blood droplet seemed to glisten almost innocently in the light.

"What? What's wrong?" the boy cried out, confusion apparent in his voice. Beneath the confusion one could detect what sounded like pain at the forceful rejection without answer.

"You have bad blood!"

"What do you mean?"

"You are evil! I can taste the menace in your blood! You are savage!"

"That's a lie! You take that back!"

At this demand Steve rushed forward, rearing back a fist in an attempt to punch Mr. Crepsley only to easily be knocked back, the man scowling as he wiped the blood still arond his mouth away. "It is no good. Your blood is bad. You can never be a vampire!"

At a hesitant "Why not?" from Steve who looked bewildered and hurt at Mr. Crepsley's inspection of his blood, Mr. Crepsley explained that vampires were not the monsters of evil that many believed, that they were rather honorable and respected life. Anger filled Steve at being denied his dream and with threats and promises that he'd make Mr. Crepsley pay for it by becoming a vampire hunter the boy ran off, tense from his rage and fists shaking.

And like that the silence filled the theater again as Mr. Crepsley continued to attempt to spit the foul taste of Steve's blood from his mouth. He stayed like that for a long while, eventually spitting out "Children!" in detest while he produced a handkerchief to continue wiping his mouth off.

Kelly couldn't help but wonder just what 'evil' tasted like in those moments, despite herself and despite the seriousness of the moment. Of course she was beginning to grow stiff from remaining in the same position for so long, she had to move. Kelly did not wish to confront Mr. Crepsley at all for the moment, after all, not unless she had to. So, she began to shuffle backwards slowly, attempting to keep the movements as minimum and slow as possible so that his enhanced hearing would not pick up on her movements.

Of course in order to accomplish this feat, without up and turning around to do so (which would have given more of a chance to give away her position) she had to remove her hand from her nose in order to move herself backwards adequately. It was at this point, when the dust was once again getting kicked up from the movements that her nose began to tickle and without much more warning than that a loud sneeze escaped her.

A moment of silence passed, briefly, possibly not even a second long though it felt like it was so much longer before she was up, on her feet and hurrying down the steps, hopping down several at a time in her rush to get away.

The duffle bag full of her things (the only things she owned now) over her shoulders bouncing off of her back as she went and producing more sound than normal. Kelly just hoped Mr. Crepsley wouldn't follow after her, if he did she wouldn't stand a chance against his ability to flit... It wasn't until she was safely outside in the warm air, hurrying away down the street that a thought hit her and she slowed to a walk under a nearby street light, brow furrowed in thought.

Kelly had nowhere to stay and only a handful of bills in her wallet, she knew no one in this world - not personally...

"Ah, what am I supposed to do now?" she snorted rather calmly for one in her predicament, as if expecting someone to reply to her distress. No one did, the night filled with the sounds of city life to fill the lack of an answer.


	4. Chapter 03

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing but any Ocs that may appear.

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><p>Kelly didn't sleep at all that night despite her want of sleep, instead wandering around the more busy and well-lit streets nearby. She'd figure out what to do as they came, no sense in worrying over things she couldn't control after all. While she told herself this, she often found herself warily glancing around her for sight of a flash of red or a shock of orange hair following after.<p>

No such things passed her gaze as the hours passed and the dark night gave way to dawn, more and more people emerging from houses on their way to work or school. Kelly used the time wandering around to brood over what she had to do now, over what she _could_ do now.

She remembered the entire ordeal didn't start with just Darren overhearing Steve and Mr. Crepsley's conversation but with Madam Octa. Would the boy still try and steal her? Well if he did what day did he do it again? Kelly couldn't remember. She'd have to find a way to stick close to the theater to watch out for the boy if he tried to snatch the tarantula.

A nearby park provided Kelly a place to nap at during the daylight hours taking refuge under the shade of a large tree, duffle bag serving as a pillow as she napped. She did this as if it were normal and awoke an hour or two later unaware to the stares she must've received as she had slept.

Food was another problem, Kelly having to resort to cheap fast food places to conserve the money she had on her. Not that it would last long that way, either. She had to try, however, as she wasn't quite sure how long the entire spider ordeal would take if Darren went through with attempting to steal Madam Octa.

Even then that wasn't even taking into account what she would do if he did not steal Madam Octa. Would she have fulfilled what that winged woman had wanted then or not? It was all so confusion and left Kelly irritated when she thought over it.

So that Sunday passed as well as the Monday after it, with Kelly following this pattern and wandering around the city in the dark, on the look out for any possible threat to her being as she did so. So far so good, until Tuesday morning when Kelly found herself pacing down the sidewalk back to the theater to keep watch of sorts, rubbing the sleep away from her eyes, glasses in hand to do so. She had managed to sneak in a half an hour nap before she made her way to her destination.

A yawn burst from her lips before she blinked ahead of her blearily, much too used to the feeling of exhaustion even before this whole mess had began. Comes with the territory when one was ridden with insomnia, after all.

She blinked, mind slowly registering the fact that someone, a dark blob in the morning light was rushing away from the theater, something covered in a red clothe tucked under his or her arm. Kelly blinked again, sleepy look still adorning her face before it clicked in her mind what was happening and it was replaced instantly for a more determined one, shoving her glasses back up onto her nose and hauling herself after Darren.

Her footsteps pounding on the concrete after him, despite her best efforts to remain silent as possible drew his attention to someone chasing after him and Kelly briefly caught him glancing fearfully over his shoulder, his eyes widening as he caught sight of the red she adorned. At the sight of the bright color he began to pull ahead further leaving Kelly with a jaw dropping slightly.

For a kid he was _fast_! Darren only pulled further ahead as well, using his knowledge of the city to his advantage, having lived there all his life and soon Kelly was left confused as to where she was at now. She couldn't very well just go up to someone, smile and ask "Hey! I know I look strange and probably insane but can you point me to Darren Shan's home? Kay, thanks!"

That only meant she'd have to continue finding ways to survive on the streets while this whole ordeal was going on. She wouldn't be able to prevent Steve's getting bit if things played out as they had in the books even if Kelly knew where Darren lived.

Now thoroughly irritated she was forced to back track her way to the theater in order to keep her bearings and be prepared for the night Darren would eventually have to return for the antidote to Madam Octa's poison. Of course this ended up being much longer than Kelly had anticipated, and only after roughly five or six days she had quite nearly run out of the money she had on her for food.

Her stomach growled loudly and she leered down at her own tummy, a hand to it as it quieted, keeping up her leisurely pace down the darkened streets once again. Kelly had begun to intentionally hold off on heading for food in the last few days until she was absolutely in need of it for the day (or in this case, night) as she wandered around, cursing life for not hurrying the incident with Madam Octa up already.

In truth she had often searched for Darren's home when the school's got out but no such luck. It wasn't as if she could just follow the boy without suspicion from onlookers all the way to his house. When she had spotted the boy he was often at the school yard or at the park playing soccer, not on his way home or he had already made his home in a rush to the spider he had stolen by the time Kelly realized what time it was.

"It sounds as if the little vagabond is having issues."

Kelly froze, nervousness and surprise apparent on her face for all of a split second at the familiarity of the voice. She had grown lax in the last few nights, not casting glances around herself as often or on the search for purposely dangerous people around her in the night. She mentally kicked herself as she recomposed herself as best she could, turning to stare at the smirk the one and only Mr. Crepsley was sending her way.

That smirk could not bode well for Kelly, she just knew it. Especially since no one was directly nearby to hear the conversation, probably as the man had intended.

"Do I know you?" she lied smoothly, though her face must not have been as composed as she would've hoped as the smirk on Mr. Crepsley's face had yet to fade.

"You are a horrible liar." Kelly decided that all that was missing from that taunt was a snicker to follow after, though the man seemed much to dignified to give one.

"Only when I'm caught off guard," came the sincere reply, which seemed to momentarily catch Mr. Crepsley off guard, the smirk slipping slightly. He wasn't caught as off guard as Kelly had been when initially hearing his voice however, still working to gather her bearings as quickly as she could. Thankfully it wasn't taking long, though she had to wonder just what Mr. Crepsley wanted.

If it was about the Cirque surely he would have confronted her long before now, before the Cirque had moved on without him as he stayed behind for his pet spider.

"You were hiding up on that balcony, you heard the conversation between myself and that wretched boy had you not?" came the follow up inquiry. So that's what this was about. Well, that worried her more, what would he want with her since she knew he was a vampire? Of course, Kelly had no prepared rebuttal or bluff for this so she retaliated with the first thing that came to mind.

"Pics or I wasn't there."

A very brief moment passed were Mr. Crepsley actually looked baffled by her logic though it was gone as soon as it had come and left Kelly wondering if it had really crossed his face at all. The sneer was back in place in moments, helping along with the belief that he had never been baffled in the first place.

It was as she had thought, meeting her favorite character was a lot different than merely reading about him on the pages of a book... Mr. Crepsley held an air about him that demanded respect as well as a mix of intimidation thrown in. It made it hard to keep and hold his gaze, though Kelly forced herself to do so.

"I have seen you hanging around the abandoned theater. Why? What is it you want?" he moved on, forcing himself to ignore Kelly's oddity for the time being.

"Yes, hello, nice to meet you to, my name is Kelly Snow thanks for asking." came the scoff for an answer, hand on her hip. For knowing what he was she certainly wasn't very frightened as he had expected of her, especially with her initial shock. Even the boy, Steve, had to fight to keep his fear in check when confronting him. Mr. Crepsley's brow rose as a thoughtful expression adorned her face before; "Oh, damn it! I could've given you a bad ass name and you would've never known!"

Mr. Crepsley forced back a chuckle at this. Kelly seemed genuinely irritated that she had not thought of such a thing before giving him her name. In a matter of minutes she was back on topic, however, answering his question without further prodding.

"What I want is a little complicated."

Well that was vague, and irritation flashed through him because of it. Kelly caught a glimpse of it in his gaze though she refused to back down as he eyed her up and down. It was now that she grew self conscious of her outfit, aware of all the belts and buckles. Surely she must look as if she had some sort of belt fetish!

Mr. Crepsley scoffed at her answer after a moment of silence. She stared back, however, unabashed, hand on her hip as she awaited his response.

"Surely someone must have sent you. Who?"

Well, Kelly couldn't blame him for his suspicions. He seemed like the cautious type when it came right down to these things. It must've been a surprise to see her there in the back of the show as if waiting and again on the balcony as if ready to try something or other...

"One-" she held up a finger to indicate the number. "Your guess is as good as mine," Once again Kelly held up her hand now flashing two fingers briefly. "Two; I'm actually not here for your life or anything."

"Oh? Than pray tell what are you here for?"

"_That's _where it gets a little complicated." came the hesitant answer, another of those thoughtful expressions crossing Kelly's face. Mr. Crepsley could only raise a brow again. What he thought was going to be a simple interrogation was becoming something infuriatingly shrouded with some type of mystery. He did not like this one bit.

"I can tell you I'm not here for your life, though!" The smile on Kelly's face seemed geunine and the scarred man could not detect any maliciousness behind it no matter how hard he tried. He heaved a sigh, smirk dropping from his face, the intimidation factor clearly did not work here. Instead he found himself performing the old habit of running a finger along his scar in thought.

"You are a strange one..." he heaved, a disdainful look over his face at this.

Kelly only grinned wider for but a brief moment. "If I weren't I wouldn't be me! So..." Mr. Crepsley's brow raised once again as she hesitated, glancing away from him as she fidgeted. Clearly she was mentally debating on something at this point though Mr. Crepsley could only wonder what it was. "What now...?"

Once again, Mr. Crepsley could only hold back a heavy sigh at the rather anti-climactic question. Though he may have use of this situation... It was not like he could keep an eye on the child who had taken Madam Octa from him twenty-four seven.. He did know where he lived after all, even after that first night, though he waited for the opportune moment. He was determined to get something out of this event, after all. After Steve's confrontation he had been brooding over several things...

Mr. Crepsley had admittedly seen Kelly wandering about, following after the boy when he was heading home late once or twice in the last week from the school yard after a game of soccer with other children his age. Though she was often deterred, from the looks of passersby that noticed this, having to veer off and lose Darren's path so as to not arouse suspicion. Either that or she missed the boy entirely. Clearly whatever she was here for it had something to do with that Darren Shan boy as well.

It was only a matter of time before the boy messed something up with Madam Octa, she was highly dangerous even to himself. Mr. Crepsley couldn't just rely on the off chance that it may happen at night when he was up and moving...

The smirk must've returned to his face as Kelly's face twisted into an unnerved and wary expression. "Why are you smirking at me like that...?"

"I may have a proposition for you Lady Snow." If she listened closely Kelly could catch the humor hidden in his voice at the 'Lady Snow' pitch though her brow furrowed in thought as her stomach grumbled loudly again. Silence for but a few seconds before she smiled mischievously, lightly pounding a fist into her opened palm.

"Will it require me eating? 'Cause I'm all for it if it does!"

An amused sigh escaped him despite his best efforts.


	5. Chapter 04

**Disclaimer:** I only own the Ocs.

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><p>Mr. Crepsley raised an incredulous brow as he watched the woman excitedly pull out what she had ordered, back inside the theater's basement around a little table. Several candles provided enough light to see by, though it made the shadows around the room deep and ominous as they flickered with the candle light. In fact, Mr. Crepsley had been wondering if there was some sort of catch to the woman's services as all she had demanded in return for her help was that he get her food for however long she helped him and allow her to stay in the dusty old theater during the night when she needed a bit of sleep with no danger of him stealing her blood from her without asking.<p>

Though the fact that she had implied to him that it would be alright with her to feed from her if he merely asked only made Mr. Crepsley wonder about the woman's attitude and sanity further.

In fact, she looked just a little _too_ happy over the unnecessarily large burrito she pulled out of the small plastic bag, before taking an overly large bite. It seemed Kelly was content to eat first and completely ignore the potentially dangerous vampire just across the table from her.

This fact alone is what caught Mr. Crepsley most off guard about the woman's lax attitude. He had seen her, after all, perched at the balcony and eavesdropping on the conversation between himself and Steve Leonard. Even vampire hunters, hardened and with a good grip on their bearings, couldn't resist showing even a sliver of fear when confronting their 'prey.'

Why was this woman so different?

"So you wanted something of me?" Kelly inquired after swallowing the first bite, with a bit of difficulty he noted. Her brown eyes met his evenly, curiosity apparent on her face though not a trace of fear.

"I have noticed you following the little thief around," he began, an amused smirk spreading over his lips again at the brief look of sheepishness that flashed over her face. "I, however, cannot keep an eye on him during the day if something were to go... wrong..."

"So you want me to keep on eye on him for you then when he's at home?" Kelly deduced as Mr. Crepsley left his statement hanging. He seemed rather satisfied that she was able to put two and two together before taking another bite of food, quickly swallowing it. "What'd he steal from you that you want back so badly? If something's dangerous about it I'd like a little fore warning, after all..."

Of course this was a lie, though Mr. Crepsley did not know this. Unlike the first few blatant lies when he had first confronted her this one was well-covered and Kelly did not have a tell for it.

"I must assume you remember Madam Octa," once again it was more of a statement that he left hang in the air. Kelly nodded slowly, already aware and hoping her act was believable enough for the vampire. "That is what has been stolen from me."

"Alright, so if something happens... what? I snatch the spider and come back?"

"Something like it, yes." In a flash Mr. Crepsley produced a deck of cards from who knew where, shuffling them in his hand at lightning speeds. Kelly turned her gaze away, biting into her burrito once again in an attempt not to look too impressed. At the amused scoff she heard the man issue Kelly figured she hadn't done a very good job of it.

In a bid to save face she spoke up; "If I get bit I blame you."

Mr. Crepsley let a chuckle pass his lips at this accusation.

And so it was that several days later Kelly was found wandering around Darren's home once again, Mr. Crepsley having wasted no time in showing her exactly where it was that first night they had agreed to work with one another. It was already dusk, just a few straggling rays of sunlight left dowsing the sky towards the west a very dark pink color that faded into the inky blue and black of the night sky.

Though already the incident had happened, Steve hauled to the hospital in a hurry just the day before though Kelly had had no way of getting Madam Octa as of yet just short of breaking and entering (which admittedly she wouldn't be past doing if it weren't for the fact that there was always someone around the home if not for someone being home outright). However now seemed to be her chance as she made her last pass for the day.

The light was on in Darren's room the window open and the curtains pulled back. Inside she could see Darren viciously shaking something in his hands, his back to the window. Kelly slowed her walk dramatically from her usual quick pace, removing her hands from her jeans' pockets as she did so, readying herself.

Sure enough, as she watched intently Darren began swinging around in circles, what looked like Madam Octa's cage in hand before he let it fly, the item and the pet inside sailing out the window. Immediately Kelly bolted into the Shan's yard, dropping down and sliding over the grass on her knees to catch the cage, hoping that the oddly colored spider would not bite her as she hugged it to her chest.

As soon as she stopped sliding over the yard, leaving deep gouges where her knees had come into contact with the ground, she stood holding the cage up delicately in her hands and out of Madam Octa's reach. Kelly ignored the grass stains now on her pants, peering into the cage curiously.

Madam Octa's many beady eyes stared back at her, her thick hairy legs trembling as she backed into the far corner of her cage. Reassured that the spider was relatively unharmed, only shaken, Kelly looked up into the window to spot Darren staring out at her. His mouth was agape and his eyes wide from what she could see in the darkening night.

Kelly flashed a grin, though it held no joy behind it merely being for show before she spun aorund on the ball of her foot and hurried away. Her jacket's tails trailed out behind her as she went.

Darren could only stare after her in surprise, wondering just why she was the one retrieving Madam Octa. Was she in league with the strange man, too?

Of course there was only one way he knew to save his best friend now. He had to confront Mr. Crepsley, the owner of the dangerous pet...

It didn't take Kelly long to make it back to the theater with Madam Octa in hand, using back alleys as short cuts now that she was more familiar with the streets she had practically been living on for the last nearly two weeks. Down the darkened steps into the basement of the deserted theater, where it grew brighter due to the candles Mr. Crepsley had lit to see by.

His eyes drifted up as she neared, his trademark smirk stretching over his face. His scar made it seem as if his mouth stretched up farther than it should in the shadows the candles cast over his face. Once again Kelly noted he was messing with a deck of cards as she produced Madam Octa with a flourish, a smirk of her own in place;

"The deed is done."

"So I see," Mr. Crepsley noted gratefully, taking the cage away gently and inspecting his pet spider for any damage as Kelly had done upon catching her. "All seems to be in order." He looked up at her as if expecting her to turn around leave as she had fulfilled her promise. Instead she stood, arms crossed and a thoughtful expression on her face once again. Mr. Crepsley raised a brow at her as if silently questioning why she was still there.

"What do you have planned now?" she probed in return. He placed Madam Octa down on the table before him, avoiding placing her upon any of the cards laid over its wooden surface before he spoke.

"What makes you ask such a thing?"

"You have Madam Octa now. Surely you are waiting for something. You seem like a man with an agenda." Another smooth little white lie. Kelly, however, grew nervous as Mr. Crepsley eyed her, inspecting her for any sort of malicious intent in her interrogation. Did he know she was lying? But how? Honestly, though, she wouldn't put it past him if Mr. Crepsley did realize she was lying...

Finally a scoff as he leaned back in the rickety chair, eyes closing briefly as he did so. "You are quite the mischievous little brat."

"Hey! I am currently twenty, you know! The insult 'brat' is reserved for children!"

This claim only seemed to amuse the vampire further and Kelly huffed, eyeing the main disdainfully for it. He did provide a bit of an answer, however, only further proving to Kelly that she had to find what she had to change now to fulfill the winged woman's request of her.

"Let us just say that my confrontation with that wretched boy has brought a few options to mind I had previously ignored until now..."

_Great_, the thought flashed through Kelly's mind as she huffed, taking the seat opposite Mr. Crepsley without an invitation. He only blinked curiously at her, silently urging her to explain her lack of leaving with his stare. After several minutes of this, Kelly finally broke under the unnerving gaze;

"I wish to see where this is going to head to if and when the kid gets here."

So the time passed with Mr. Crepsley having the decency to teach Kelly a card game to pass the time. Granted this took up quite a bit of time with Mr. Crepsley learning that the woman was more of a visual learner than auditory. So time advanced fairly quickly and before the two knew it Darren was at the foot of the stairs, chest heaving as he fought to catch his breath. He eyed the two red clad people at the small table before him, pausing in their card game to survey him.

"Good morning, Master Shan." came the subtle humor from Mr. Crepsley, a smirk over his lips once again. Kelly spared a wave and a grin as Darren frowned.

"It's not morning. It's the middle of the night."

"And that is morning to me." came the vampire's quick rebuttal without a moment's thought.

"You were waiting for me... weren't you?" Darren gulped, nerves causing his hands to shake. The boy was confused as to why the man thought of the night as morning, however. Kelly frowned, still not having a clue as to how she could change the events that were to transpire before her very eyes.

"Yes."

"How long have you know where Madam Octa was hidden at?" Here Darren's eyes flickered to Kelly. She huffed, sticking her tongue out at the boy before answering.

"Hey, don't look at me!"

"I have known since the night you stole her." Once again Darren's accusatory gaze fixed themselves onto Kelly who shot Mr. Crepsley a miffed look. He merely gave a satisfied smirk back, knowing what implications must have been sent to the boy with his answer.

"This isn't what it seems like, kid." Kelly scoffed, though the damage was done. Darren already had it fixed into his mind that she had told Mr. Crepsley exactly who had stolen Madam Octa the day she had caught him in the act. She shook her head in defeat, waving a hand at the boy as if to dismiss her own comment. "Forget it!"

The conversation continued quickly after, with Darren questioning just why Mr. Crepsley hadn't stolen the spider back right away. He answered that he had debated over but decided against it, instead moving further to continue teasing the boy despite Darren's obvious disdain and irritation over it. During this period of conversation Mr. Crepsley had shown off a bit, snapping his fingers and placing all of the cards back into their pack using his vampiric speed to his advantage to make it seem as if they had magically replaced themselves, including the cards Kelly had been holding. As this registered in Kelly's mind she shot him another irritated look and a dry "Funny."

However Darren had ignored this entirely instead with a growl he shouted; "Stop teasing me!"

"I'm sure you're here for something important right? So is now really the time to dilly-dally with a conversation like this?"

Silence as Darren's eyes widened at the truth of this statement from Kelly. His best friend's life was slipping away as they spoke and this strange orange-haired man was his only hope to save him. He didn't have time to focus on getting Mr. Crepsley to stop teasing him!

Mr. Crepsley coughed, and if Kelly did not know better she would've guessed it was out of embarrassment. "Yes, tell me, Darren Shan; what is it you want? Surely you have not come back for Madam Octa."

"Of course not! She bit my friend, I don't ever want to see her again! I want you to make him better!"

A brow raised as Mr. Crepsley answered; "That is a tall order and I am no specialist or doctor. I am merely a freak. Remember?"

"Stop playing with the poor kid! God damn!" Kelly snorted, shooting another look at Mr. Crepsley though this one fell flat on its face. The smirk on her face told her she was getting some sort of morbid amusement out of this portion of the conversation as well.

"Perhaps I do not wish to help this child," Mr. Crepsley answered, his gaze focused on Kelly, who met his gaze evenly. Clearly he was speaking more to Darren than to her, though continuing to tease the young boy but not addressing him fully. "Perhaps it is a small bottle of antidote that I am saving in case I am ever bitten."

Darren opened his mouth to reply, hope appearing on his face. However, Kelly's face was serious as she beat him to the punch, leaning closer to the vampire across the table from her.

"Perhaps you have some sort of a price?"

A flash of surprise over the older man's face as well as Darren's. Once again anything Darren had to say in response was drowned out as the adults seemed to have some sort of subtle dealing going on between them. He didn't understand though, weren't they in this together? This seemed to imply that they were not, well then why had Kelly retrieved Madam Octa and brought the spider back to Mr. Crepsley?

"Clever girl," He ignored her very quiet grunt of "not a girl." "Perhaps I do. What is the importance to someone like you who has no ties to this boy?"

"I'm right here you know?" Darren huffed, irritated at being spoken of as if he was not there at all. He was promptly ignored once again.

"He is a child, if the price is too steep..." Whatever she had intended to say after was left in mystery as Kelly shook her head as if to clear her head. This, however, did not answer Mr. Crepsley's previous question of just why it would matter to her, leaving him even more in the dark, so to speak, on the matter.

"If that is what is concerning you..." He, too, left his statement hang leaving a feeling of dread settle into Darren's mind. He swallowed the lump in his throat as he spoke.

"What is your price for the cure?"

Mr. Crepsley chuckled rather nastily, a dark expression crossing over his face. Though once again he turned his gaze to Kelly. "You remember what Steve Leopard and I spoke of?"

"Steve wished to become a vampire," Darren's mouth floundered open and closed at this recapping, no words coming out despite his want to question this information. His mind raced; was the man sitting before him really a vampire? What of the woman? Was she one, too then? "You said no but he offered to become your assistant, you denied him after tasting his blood."

"So... You'll let Steve have his wish in return for the cure...?" Darren ventured curiously, still shocked over this vampire business. Surely they didn't really exist! Why should they? Though Steve had been acting strangely the days after the Cirque... But it was certainly a huge thing to wrap one's mind around.

Mr. Crepsley merely tutted at Darren, shaking his head slightly to indicate that the boy's guess was wrong.

Kelly slammed her hands on the table then, causing Darren to jump at the loud noise though Mr. Crepsley merely gave her a curious look as she stood to her full height, an unimpressive five foot three. She glared down at Mr. Crepsley as she spoke; "Absolutely not!"

"Oh?" He smirked at her then, as if daring her to try and stop _him_ a vampire who could easily overpower her with merely a pinky finger. He knew it and by the look on her face, the determined bravado that hid the nervousness she was obviously feeling at standing up to him on this matter, she knew it as well.

"What?" Darren inquired, still not fully understanding. "He's talking about letting Steve become his assistant right?"

"Don't you get it, kid?" Kelly scoffs, still giving her best glare to Mr. Crepsley though it had less than the desired effect as she would've guessed. "He wants _you_ to be his assistant!"

"Clever little vagabond."

Kelly scoffed, irritation mixing into everything else already plastered over her face. At least he hadn't used 'girl' this time around. Darren was at a loss for words, fear gripping his heart. No way was he becoming a vampire! "N-No! I will not!"

"Then Steve Leopard dies." Mr. Crepsley shrugged as if the reply was not the least bit callous in nature. Before she could fully grasp what she was doing she placed a hand to her chest, nervousness leaving her for the time being in place of reckless determination as she spoke up amidst Darren's stumbling and stutter-y protesting this path as well.

"Then allow me to take his place." the words tumbled out of her mouth easily enough and the room grew deathly silent at this offer. Both of them stared at her with shocked stares, even Mr. Crepsley's mouth had dropped somewhat not having expected her to jump in with such a thoughtless act. She stared back evenly, not allowing the possible consequences to her actions to deter her. Kelly could worry about and deal with those as they came.


	6. Chapter 05

**Disclaimer:** I only own any Ocs that pop up. Nothing mor,e nothing less.

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><p>Staring. This continued for what felt like hours to Kelly who remained, keeping her own gaze steady on the vampire before her. Even if it was a reckless decision it was the only way she could think to chase Darren away and keep him human. Darren broke the ensuing silence, sputtering in his confusion, wide eyed and horrified.<p>

"Wha... What...?" Darren finally spoke up in his stupor.

With a huff Kelly answered, eyes once again locked on Mr. Crepsley. More nervousness shown through her reckless bravado as she did, hoping that the man would not disagree. "You heard me. I wish to take your place in exchange for the cure." At least her voice did not betray her cause, strong in the silence around them.

Finally Mr. Crepsley's dumbfounded expression morphed back into the usual smirk that adorned his face. "Just why would you wish to take the boy's place, Lady Snow?"

"He's a child," Kelly began, once again fighting to keep his stare. Damn was that man intimidating when he wanted to be. It did not help that under the circumstances he was clearly in charge of the situation more so than her or Darren. "I don't know everything about vampires other than the common myths, but even if only a handful of those are true it'd be too much for a someone like Darren to bear at such a young age!"

Darren kept quiet, brow furrowed in worry at the scenario playing before him. His hands were shaking even more, his heart hammering loudly as the seconds ticked by further towards Steve's death. Fear was predominant in his mind, both for Steve's fate and his own. However, at the back of his mind he had to wonder just why this strangely-dressed woman was offering to take his place so readily... Was she insane?

Though, if he looked closely enough in the dark shadows of the basement, he could see Kelly had turned several shades paler despite the strong expression on her face.

"And if I do not wish to take _you_ on as my assistant? What then...?" Mr. Crepsley watched in amusement as Kelly's eyes narrowed a fraction of an inch at this subtle insult. For her credit she refused to back down, quickly giving another rebuttal.

"Then I will not allow the boy to make the exchange either." She gestured around them at the dirty walls and ceiling, the mold and insects that crawled around. In fact, Darren glimpsed a rather large cockroach skittering across the floor near their feet, hiding in the shadows soon after. "Meaning you would have waited in such a... place of disarray... with nothing to show for it in the end."

Darren's breath caught in his throat as Mr. Crepsley's smirk held no amusement now, being held only for show. He had waited for nearly two weeks in the broken down theater with cockroaches, mold and lice in order to get something out of this. Darren was the first to quickly break the uneasy silence that settled over the room.

"But what of Steve?"

"Then I'll steal the antidote! Don't doubt me! I've done stupider things, I'm sure!" Kelly grinned at Darren reassuringly, giving a wink for effect. Truly, she couldn't really think of any other moment in her life when she _had_ done something stupider than stealing from a vampire, much less _saying she would right in front of said vampire_.

"Brave." Mr. Crepsley scoffed, though what sounded like admiration was hidden in the scoff. Kelly blinked in surprise at her gaze once again returning to his. "Or is it merely foolishness that drives you?"

"Ah, you'd be surprised at how often those two often coincide with one another." Kelly shot back lightly, despite the nervousness still building in her chest.

Darren looked between the two cautiously, noting the smirks on their faces. Was he missing something? Some silent communication between the two that he could not see from his perspective? Darren didn't know but he had to find out about Steve's fate...

"So... what about Steve? Will you save him?"

The hesitant inquiry brought the two back to the matter at hand and Mr. Crepsley's smirk faded entirely in place for a more serious expression. Now it was his turn to look between Darren and Kelly who both stared back intently, awaiting his answer. He took the time to mull over his options. Originally he had wanted the boy, Darren Shan, to be become his assistant, the child was noble and had a good heart while being brave and reckless enough to actually steal from a vampire (even if he had no idea Mr. Crepsley was a vampire at the time).

However, Kelly was another matter entirely. It was clear she would not allow him to blood Darren, no matter what due to him being a child and possibly not understanding all of the consequences such a thing would incur. While her anxiety was shining through he could clearly see her resolve behind it. Mr. Crepsley had to admit she had guts to willingly admit in front of him, knowing what he was, that she would steal what the boy needed if it came down to it...

Finally a chuckle left him as he stood, towering over her, though she still refused to back down. Well, this was good. At least she could stand behind her claims even if the odds were weighed heavily against her.

"Very well, hold up your hands." Kelly blinked, clearly taken aback at this. Hesitantly she did as asked, palms facing him. Darren watched, horror mounting in him as Mr. Crepsley quickly jabbed his sharp nails into her finger tips without warning. A slight flinch at this was all that Kelly allowed, jaw clenching to ward off the yelp that wanted to escape her and her fingers jerking back as if she were about to pull her hands away altogether before she stopped herself.

"A little warning would've been nice," she grunted sarcastically as Mr. Crepsley took a hand in his, blood dribbling down her hands. Droplets fell the floor where they glistened dully in the candlelight.

Darren gulped, heart thundering loudly within his ears at what he was witnessing.

"Get used to the pain. There will be much of it in the future." Mr. Crepsley warned, though before Kelly could articulate her response she was silenced as Mr. Crepsley took several of her injured fingers into his mouth to suck some of the blood away as it leaked out. Her mouth closed, feeling awkward at what was happening though refusing to turn her gaze away in embarrassment.

Several seconds later Mr. Crepsley relinquished her fingers, swishing the blood around in his mouth before swallowing. "It is good blood. We may continue."

Darren forced the lump that reappeared in his throat back down at the events happening before him, stunned into silence. It was almost as if his presence had been forgotten about entirely for the moment. Kelly gave another sarcastic comment back, still holding her hands up for the vampire as he sliced into his fingers for the process of blooding her. Something along the lines of "So glad my blood is of noble intentions," which only caused Mr. Crepsley to conceal a chuckle in response.

Darren felt bad as Mr. Crepsley placed his fingertips to hers, joining the wounds together, ignoring the blood that dribbled down both their hands now. If it wasn't for Kelly surely he would've been in that position. What would've happened then? Would he have had to run away, never to see his loved ones again? If that was the case just what was Kelly giving up? Did she have anyone she loved in the city that she would miss?

A numbing sensation filled Kelly's hands, her blood rushing out of her left hand into Mr. Crepsley's body as she felt his blood enter hers through her right hand. It was a strange sensation, awkward and rather invasive, though the numbing soon turned to pain as the blood reached the heart.

It seemed Mr. Crepsley was also feeling the pain, sweat beading on his forehead and his jaw clenched tightly. Kelly to gritted her teeth against the pain as well, forcing herself to remain standing, an eye closed against the feeling. After she felt the blood flow back down her opposite arm they remained joined for several seconds longer before Mr. Crepsley pulled his hands away from hers.

Between licking his own wounds he demanded, "Give me your hands again. My spit will heal the wounds or else you will bleed to death." Kelly blinked at him dully, before glancing down at her bloody hands. Sure enough, the thick red liquid was still pumping out of the small wounds at a rather startling and steady pace.

Kelly offered her hands up, awkwardness filling the room again. Even Darren gave a little cough in discomfort as Mr. Crepsley licked the wounds on her fingers one at a time. She could feel her face burning by the time he was done, well aware of his hand over hers to keep it still and his tongue dragging over the bloody wounds though it seemed all in the room were content to ignore it, thankfully.

Kelly instead took to inspecting the tiny white scars adorning her fingers now, amidst the blood still on her hands. "So that's it then, eh?"

"Yes. This is the mark of a vampire. You will have these scars for the rest of your life. Of course there are other ways to change a human, this is merely the easiest."

Kelly nodded, tilting her head to either side in thought before she commented, "I don't feel much different."

"You will not for several days as the body adjusts to your new half vampire blood. If it did not have this period of adjustment the shock would be too great."

Darren gave a little cough, eyeing Mr. Crepsley seriously, face still deathly pale at the things he had seen and heard in such a short amount of time. "What about Steve?" he pointed out.

Kelly clapped, blood splattering into the air as she did this, a smile back in place on her face as Mr. Crepsley glanced down at her at the noise. "Right! Now that this half of the deal is complete go save the boy's friend!" She performed a shooing motion at him and Mr. Crepsley raised a brow.

"And what of you?" clearly her actions only proved to him that she was going to stay behind as they went to administer the antidote to Steve. Kelly definitely had noble intentions, what with taking the boy's place and the consequences of it onto herself without a second thought, but could he trust her to stay put? Mr. Crepsley would really rather prefer not to have to wait her out if she stubbornly refused to come with him right away, instead going back on their deal.

Kelly was rather unpredictable at times...

"I'll wait here," To demonstrate this claim she pulled her duffle bag over her shoulders and dropped it onto the ground before seating herself back down at the table contently. "It's not like I have anywhere else to be."

Mr. Crepsley eyed her for several seconds as she took to finally wiping her hands off on her pant legs, further dirtying them. An impatient tug on his cloak brought his attention back to Darren, who held a worried expression on his face for Steve's life. Behind it he could see the fear, fear of Mr. Crepsley and he could only scoff before leading the way up the steps, Darren hurrying after.

Up and out of the theater, into the chilly night air, Mr. Crepsley had Darren hop onto his back before flitting so as to make it to the hospital in no time, despite the boy's shock at moving so fast. Finding Steve's room and entering it undetected was also no problem, merely climbing up the brick walls as if it were no dangerous feat to begin with, with Darren still clinging tightly onto his back. In fact the entire process of getting to the hospital, to Steve's room and then giving the boy the antidote took roughly fifteen minutes if not less.

Darren stayed behind to keep an eye on Steve and make sure the vampire had not gone back on his word. Mr. Crepsley could only scoff at this before leaving the way he had come in; through the window. He had no further responsibility over the boy, if Darren got caught and in trouble for not being home at this time of night and in the hospital after visiting hours were long since over that was Darren's fault, not his.

Of course while Darren was worrying about that, Mr. Crepsley's mind was back on the woman he had blooded, wondering if _she_ had gone back on her word and left the theater in an attempt to run away. That would merely be foolish and she would only end up harming if not out right killing someone eventually for blood if it happened. When that would happen she would come back of her own free will, he had seen it happen to many newly blooded half vampires, after all, to know what would happen sooner or later.

To say Mr. Crepsley was surprised to see her, still seated at the table when he returned would have been an understatement. But there she was, feet propped up on the table and a book in her hands that she had presumably taken from her bag. Her own red jacket was stuffed into the bag as well as the little top hat she had been wearing for the last few days he had known her, but she was there.

Well, this certainly saved Mr. Crepsley time.

"I see you decided not to run. A wise decision." he commented stepping further towards the table once again, the beginnings of a smirk playing on his lips once again.

Without tearing her eyes away from the pages of her book she waved a dismissive hand at him, "Running is for cowards." A few seconds later and she closed the book with a snap having reached the end of the paragraph she had been on when Mr. Crepsley had arrived, finally looking up at him expectantly. "I figure you wanna explain just what I will be doing as your assistant now, right?"

"You will be my hands and eyes during the day, as you are not a full vampire and will still be able to enter the sunlight. You will guard me as I sleep. You will travel with me and find food if it is scarce. You will take my clothes to the laundry and polish my shoes. You will take care of Madam Octa. In short you will see to my every need, in exchange I will teach you the ways of the vampires."

Whatever reply he had been expecting it had not been the subtly sarcastic one Kelly gave in return. "Ah, I get to be a _maid_! Sweet! My life's dream come true!"

Mr. Crepsley gave her a stern look though it didn't deter her chuckling, however she did attempt to sober herself up. "So what will I be able to do as a half vampire?"

"As I have said before you will still be able to move about during the day. You will not need as much blood to sustain yourself and you will eventually find you will have improved abilities." He moved closer, causing Kelly to crane her neck up to view his face properly as he tapped the frames of her glasses lightly. "Eventually you will have no need of these."

"Fuck yeah!" Kelly cheered under her breath. Mr. Crepsley scoffed at the vulgar language though let it slid for the time being. Instead he continued.

"As it stands you will only age a fifth the rate of a human while a full vampire ages a tenth."

"Gotcha, boss!" A pause followed this rather enthusiastic answer as she looked around avoiding his gaze. Mr. Crepsley raised a brow at this. There was clearly something on her mind that she was wanting to bring up though was hesitant to do so.

"So..." she finally started, still avoiding his gaze. "What makes you think I won't just kill you in your sleep or something?"

Mr. Crepsley genuinely laughed at that, though it was short before he grinned wickedly at her. "It is a risk I am willing to take. A vampire's assistant must have spirit, which you obviously have in spades. You have quite a fighter quality in you as well, it is what forced me to change my mind about blooding the boy. You are unpredictable and could be quite a danger to have around but it seems that when the chips are down you will be a worthy ally as well."

Kelly grinned proudly at this, flashing the peace sign at him. "Sounds like this is gonna be _fun_! Challenge accepted!"


	7. Chapter 06

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing. I swear it.

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><p>Despite knowing that the antidote wasn't a fake Kelly still convinced Mr. Crepsley to hang around, just for a few days to double check on Steve's health. When he had scoffed at her for wanting to make sure the safety of, in his words, 'such a wretched boy' was secure she had merely answered that there was nothing wrong with double checking. Better safe than sorry, after all.<p>

Steve had awoke the morning after, feeling fine, though according to Mr. Crepsley he would catch colds much more easily now in his life. He was soon after released from the hospital and sent home with instructions to wait until the week was over to head back to school. When she had relayed this information to Mr. Crepsley the night before (she had heard it from Darren who, though hesitant, was happy about this information and willing to share it with her) he had nodded curtly and informed her that they were to leave the city the next night.

So there she was, walking down the sidewalk that afternoon, hands stuffed into her pockets.

The day was much too bright, though this wasn't a surprise. Even before this whole mess Kelly had taken to rather preferring night. Before she had left the theater she had dug around in her bag pulling out the sunglasses lens that went over one's prescription glasses and placing them over her glasses to shield her eyes from the light.

It shouldn't be too long now, she knew, before she would no longer need the prescription glasses at all, when her body would begin to show the changes of what she now was. She wondered how it would be, to not have to depend on the glasses to see straight once again, to be able to be stronger and faster...

Kelly was brought of her musings as something ran into her, sending her back stepping in an attempt to catch her balance. Her reflexes reacted before her mind did, quickly throwing an arm out to catch something to help while the other found its way onto someone's shoulder, though she didn't know if she grasped the person to stop his or her fall or to push the person way. Luckily she caught a street pole in hand, using it to stop their fall and for several seconds they remained that way before gaining her bearings to look down at who had run straight into her.

A brow raised at the silver hair and the large blue eyes that blinked up at her with just as much surprise as she had felt. Silence between the two as the boy hurriedly stepped away with pink colored cheeks and a few passing glances from those on the sidewalk around them before a loud, shrill shout sounded out.

"Steve!"

Kelly spared a glance up, towards the woman hurrying for them with worry plastered over her face. No doubt she was Steve's mother. Steve coughed in embarrassment, a scowl crossing his features as the pink darkened slightly on his face.

"Are you alright?" the woman worried, crouching beside Steve and fusing about his clothes. Fear was also alight on the woman's face.

"I'm fine!" he snapped to his mother, straightening his shirt out himself after batting her hands away callously.

"You just recovered you should be at home!"

Kelly watched silently, feeling a bit awkward. It was the same type of awkward feeling one gets when at a friend's home, who begins to get yelled and scolded at by their parents. In a bid to lessen the embarrassment of the situation for the boy Kelly spoke up, raising her hands in a bid to help calm the hysterical woman.

"You shouldn't worry so much, ma'am." Mrs. Leonard stared up at her, blinking warily at the strange woman. True, Kelly wasn't wearing her jacket again that day, though she was till wearing the rest of her strange outfit. "Boys will be boys, right? A little mischief comes with the territory!"

Kelly spared a wink and a smile to Steve though his eyes were transfixed on her fingertips where the little white scars showed brightly in the daylight. Kelly's smile faded and she dropped her hands, stuffing them back into her pockets while Steve stared intently at her, mind racing. He recognized the marks. He had just reread the old book that detailed the markings in them just last night from boredom at being stuck inside for so long.

Mrs. Leonard sniffed, placing her hands on Steve's shoulders and steering him away though his gaze remained focused on the woman with the markings of a vampire. Mrs. Leonard's eyes landed on the many belts about Kelly's hips, the sunglasses, the tattoo on the left forearm and the blood and grass stains on her pants. She sniffed disdainfully.

"You wouldn't understand if you don't have children," she answered though it held no malice. Kelly shrugged at that, seeing truth in those words as Steve was lead away by his mother, though he kept sneaking glances back at the woman over his shoulder, eyes narrowed in hatred.

Kelly sighed in detest. "Why do I get the feeling I just made something worse?" she grumbled to herself, running a hand through her hair. No answer was provided, not that she expected one to begin with. Ignoring the people staring at her choice of clothing once again, Kelly spun around on the ball of her foot, heading back to the theater to await for dusk to arrive and Mr. Crepsley to awake.

It passed slowly with Kelly hanging around the outside of the theater to enjoy the rest of the day, despite how bright it was. She wandered inside only long enough to nab her bag to use as a pillow again as she napped, hoping that no one would call the police on her if they noticed her sleeping on the abandoned property. No doubt she would be up all night, even just an hour or so of sleep would help. It seemed that no one called the police on her as she was all too soon awoken by none other than Mr. Crepsley who crouched beside her, a hand on her shoulder.

The way he moved and looked at her expectantly it was clear that Mr. Crepsley was eager to move on from this place. Kelly blinked up at him blearily as she sat up, stretching her arms before her.

"I trust we will have no other distractions to stop us from leaving?" Looking up at him Kelly noted the raised expectant brow as if daring her to say there was more reason to stay. She merely shook her head with a small grunt that translated to "no" before moving to stand and brush the dirt that clung to her clothes off.

When that was done the duffle bag followed suit, once again thrown over her shoulders for safekeeping. Despite having rather walked, more for her own pride than anything, Kelly hopped onto Mr. Crepsley's back once offered, wrapping her arms around his neck and grasping his cloak tightly in her hands at his warning of "hold on tightly."

To make sure Kelly wouldn't fall off as he flitted Mr. Crepsley grabbed a hold of her thighs and off they went. The sudden movement and the sight of the world passing them by at such speeds left Kelly with the feeling that her heart had been left behind entirely, the organ missing a few beats in surprise before picking back up again. That was before the large grin split over her face. To her, this was one of the coolest things in the world after all (even if she did have to be carried piggy back style for the moment)!

"This is bad ass!" she cheered. She could see it clearly, but Kelly could have sworn she saw a the beginnings of a smile at that statement on Mr. Crepsley's face.

Several nights passed with this method to get far enough away from the city, stopping well before the sun would come up in places that would protect Mr. Crepsley from the sunlight. Usually these places included any number of odd environemns, abandoned buildings usually though old unused silos and any sort of small cave worked well, too.

Once Mr. Crepsley determined the two were well enough away from the city they began to walk, use buses and other such public transportation methods in place of flitting. When asked he had explained that flitting was rather tiring work, and Kelly couldn't deny having noticed it - the man rather red in the face and breathing hard by the time they stopped each night.

It kind of made her feel bad. Not that she would admit that either.

So the weeks had passed, with the routine down pat fairly quickly. While Mr. Crepsley slept during the day, she would get everything important done and out of the way early on (after catching a few hours of sleep, of course!) before doing what she wanted (which usually included wandering around nearby or sketching and doodling on the limited amount of paper stored in her bag). What needed to be done really depended on a lot of factors, though Kelly usually went about making sure everything was in order, anything that needed mending that she could fix she would, etc. etc.

Of course the most dangerous chore of all would have to have been dealing with Madam Octa, hands down. For nearly two weeks Kelly was unable to really deal with the tarantula, unable to both play the tin whistle and to get her to do what the half vampire wanted her to do. This had lead to several very odd lessons on how to play what Mr. Crepsley insisted was a flute in order to do so, practicing with the spider for some odd nights between learning what she needed to about vampires and how to survive.

'Hunting' had also been rather awkward for the woman once Mr. Crepsley had had her participate. It was a simple role she took, merely keeping their 'mark' still long enough for Mr. Crepsley to sneak up on him or her and knock the person unconscious with some type of special breath that full vampires gained to do so easily.

It were these 'hunting' events that found the two where they were now, Mr. Crepsley hiding high up in a tree amidst the leaves changing colors while Kelly was down below, leaning against the trunk, arms folded over her chest as she waited. She shifted, the leaves crackling beneath her foot and she cringed knowing it was only going to irritate the man above her.

And sure enough he hissed down at her, "Quiet!"

Kelly looked up matching his irritated look for one of her own before sticking her tongue out at him. He snorted something that sounded suspiciously like a sarcastic "mature" before silence fell around them again. It remained that way for some time until the faint rhythmic crunching of leaves sounded out, the noise drawing closer at each passing moment.

As soon as they sounded near enough Kelly stepped out from behind the tree, unfolding her arms and instead using her hands to hold back her hair from her face, eyes down turned to the ground as she hunched over nearly double as if searching for something.

The crunching stopped as the person who had been coming froze, not expecting another person out at this time of night though Kelly didn't stop in the act. It had actually been one that she had come up with, having had experience in it happening to her before. Before she had hidden behind the tree she had taken her glasses which were no longer of much use to her and tossed them to the ground amidst the leaves.

True, with her improved sight she could easily pick out where she had thrown the glasses, the frames and lenses reflecting the street light dully. They were just there for show, really, in case the 'mark' doubted her act.

"Are you alright, little lady?" The voice was that of a man's and Kelly jerked her head up as if in surprise at the question. She hoped the surprised look on her face was believable enough as she observed him. He was a pudgy type of man, and from what she could see he had a kindly look to him, dressed in a Scout Master's uniform.

Kelly resisted an amused snort at the sight of a grown man in such shorts that stopped well above his knees showing off parts of his thighs.

"I... I suppose so..." Kelly forced herself not to cringe out how fake her voice sounded. She hoped it was only false sounding to her own ears because she knew she was lying through her teeth. It seemed the Scout Master didn't catch it, moving closer to the tree she was under.

The tree that Mr. Crepsley waited in.

"Are you lost?" She shook her head, hands still holding her hair back away from her face as she returned to the faux search for her glasses.

"I lost my glasses and I can't see without them! I'll be in trouble if I go home missing them!" she invented, not sparing the pudgy man another glance. She hoped this would further the 'worry' and 'urgency' in finding the glasses. She also hoped that this man believed her to be younger than what she was. She had often been mistaken for being several years younger and still in school, after all.

It was this fact that she was counting on.

The man stepped forward, leaves crackling and crunching under foot once again alerting Kelly and Mr. Crepsley that he was buying the bait. "Don't worry, maybe I can hel-"

Whatever else he had intended to say after his offer of helping Kelly it was cut off as a twig snapped causing him to jerk his head up into the branches above him. Simultaneously Kelly had jumped back to avoid getting hit as that had been the same time that Mr. Crepsley had made his move, dropping down on the man and knocking him out with that strange noxious gas for breath.

Kelly stood back, watching and once again feeling awkward. It was a feeling she had quickly grown accustomed to after becoming a half vampire just several short months ago.

Mr. Crepsley held up one of the mans thick legs as he scoffed in amusement. "Imagine a man his age wearing a Scout's uniform."

As he stated this he quickly made a slit with a toughened nail, Kelly shifted closer crouching down with her chin in hand as she watched. "There's just a certain age when people should stop wearing certain things." she agreed, mind flashing back to her mother, who at the age of fifty, still found it appropriate to wear a tube top style dress to a wedding.

She quickly shook that unwanted image from her mind as Mr. Crepsley answered with "Indeed." And with that he clamped his mouth around the cut, not wishing to waste any of the blood leaking from the wound. It was still as awkward to see happen now as it had been when Kelly had first witnessed Mr. Crepsley feed from someone out right.

It wasn't that it disgusted her, in fact she had no problems drinking the blood he kept bottled. But when it came to actually feeding from a live person... Well, it was one of the few things Kelly backed out of, still feeling too awkward about it to want to do it.

Though she did know she'd have to eventually; one of Mr. Crepsley's first lessons had been about how a vampire couldn't survive solely on bottled blood alone for whatever reason.

Finally, Mr. Crepsley shuffled back, a satisfied look on his face as he gestured expectantly to Kelly. She took a deep breath, running a hand through her brown hair as if attempting to steel herself for the act. It didn't work. Almost immediately her shoulders sagged in defeat and she flashed Mr. Crepsley an apologetic smile.

"S-Sorry! I can't!"

Nerves caused her to chuckle in a vain attempt to ease the situation as the ever-familiar frustrated look crossed Mr. Crepsley's face at her denial to feed from a human out right. "Eventually you must! It is not something you can avoid forever!"

"I'm aware!" Kelly assured quickly, trying hard to squish her own frustration. She waved her hands before her as if in an attempt to placate him. "I just haven't gotten over how awkward it is yet!"

Mr. Crepsley eyed her for several seconds. She seemed sincere enough and she _had_ drank blood he kept bottled. However, she could not live long on that alone, both knew this. He sighed then, working up a glob of spit in his mouth and allowing it to dribble out over the man's cut, healing it almost instantly and leaving the faintest of scars. He cleaned away the blood quickly after, another slight scoff leaving him at the sight of the wasted liquid.

The man would probably not notice the scar upon waking and even if he did all he would remember was a girl who needed to find her glasses and a red shape falling in on him.

Kelly stood, brushing off her pants of any imaginary dirt and dust before moving to scoop up her glasses. Why she kept them she didn't know, though with the act she played tonight they did come in handy still. When she turned back Mr. Crepsley had stood himself, rearranging the cape over his shoulders. He was eyeing her carefully and she faltered, nervously.

"You have shied away once too many, by now." He spoke seriously, leaving no room for argument. "The next time you must drink from the human."

Kelly resisted a sigh as she nodded reluctantly. "Yeah, yeah. I get it. Next time for sure, promise."

Mr. Crepsley remained, eyeing his charge for several seconds as if searching for any hint of a lie. It seemed she was truthful enough and he had found that when she promised something she did her hardest to keep with it. He sighed turning around to lead the way down the darkened street with Kelly hurrying to keep up with him. While she often walked with a swift pace of her own, Mr. Crepsley's pace was often faster, his longer legs forcing her to hurry even more to keep up.

The silence was broken only by the leaves that moved and crunched along with them and it was making Kelly unnerved. Mr. Crepsley was a hard man to read, and it was at times like these, when she refused to do something that any vampire would do easily enough, that she greatly disliked this fact.

So in an attempt to lighten the mood, she took a hold of his cape, giving it a little tug to catch his attention. Kelly grinned as he glanced down at her curiously, "We need to get you new clothes. You stick out like a sore thumb," she sang.

Mr. Crepsley took the time to glance down at himself, still garbed in his performer's clothes. The last two months had been no problem with him wearing them as they traveled and stayed out in the country for the better part of their travels. There were no people around to stare at the strangely-dressed duo.

Now that they were in town a change of clothes would be needed, else the two be too obvious and make luring in any human that much harder. In fact, Kelly's choice in clothing often deterred many from drawing too close for long stretches of time, their eyes warily moving to the many belts, the top hat she occasionally adorned on and off, and punk-like vest she wore which contradicted her helpless act.

"So we do," Mr. Crepsley chuckled, noting the pout and the huff at his insinuation that she, too, looked much to weird for normal society.

"Don't lump a cutie like me in with someone like you," she taunted again, pulling ahead instead, further down the sidewalk, kicking up leaves as she went.

"Hmph. Watch what you say," if Kelly had turned to look she'd see the barely concealed smirk on his face to thwart the almost serious tone the vampire was using. "It may earn you a smack on the ears."

"You'd have to catch me first, old man!"


End file.
